Santa ‘Ddora Cacate and popular magic in Mentana

Mrs. Valentina Raffaelli tells us about an interesting dream she had when she was about 10 years old. It was an “unusual” and “vivid” dream, in which she met a gruesome-looking woman, who confirmed to be a damned soul. Once awaken, Valentina told the strange dream to her mother and asked her whether a woman, named Santa ‘Ddora Cacate (this was the name indicated by the lady in the dream), had ever lived in Mentana (a village near Rome).

Following this recount, we decided to carry out an anthropological fieldwork, so that we have collected a series of video-interviews which manage leading us into the magical world that is still in the memory of the people of Mentana. Well, we have included parts of this documentary material in such a video-production.